


Shattered Stars

by Kamidani



Series: A Different Time, A Different Story [4]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Also Young Xehanort is there but not really, Dragon Riku, Dream Eater Riku, Gen, so make of that what you will
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 02:20:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18955927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamidani/pseuds/Kamidani
Summary: Sora's had nightmares for as long as he can remember. They were commonplace, almost routine, so Riku's recent habit of jumping into his dreams and spiriting away the nightmares is somewhat jarring. Sora doesn't mind, though, until the darkness that he's been hiding overwhelms Riku in the dream.This time, Sora gets to save him from the nightmare.





	Shattered Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Fun fact, this is actually a direct continuation of Cry Me a River of Gold. Like, immediately afterwards. However, they're separate fics because I said so, dammit. Have fun, cause a certain dream eater form of Riku's that I've written before returns: with a twist.

The moment Sora saw the perfect, empty white walls of Scala ad Caelum, he knew he was in a dream. 

 

The waves crashed in a perfect rhythm behind him, and far above him the gulls cried. The cable cars hummed along on their lonely rounds, with no conductor to tell them there was no one left to carry. And far above, the tower where Sora had faced down Xehanort for the fate of the worlds stood guard, a silent sentinel. 

 

"Hello?" Sora called out, eyeing the empty avenues around him. Everything was so strikingly perfect, as if someone had painted the idea of a city and he was trapped somewhere in the canvas. His own voice echoed back to him, repeated over and over like a thousand mocking ghosts. Sora shuddered, acutely aware of the empty streets.

 

"Well, nowhere to go but up," he murmured to himself, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't echo again. His footsteps were a different kind of echo, making it sound like an army of ghosts was drifting around him. Sora gulped and walked faster.

 

The buildings rose up around him, eery in their perfect glory, and Sora found himself ducking away every time he caught his own reflection in the windows. 

 

"Where are you taking me?" Sora asked the cobblestones. "I don't get dreams like this unless there's a point. Where do I need to go?"

 

"How observant of you."

 

Sora let out a strangled cry and spun around.

 

No one there…

 

"But surely you know why you're here, of all places."

 

Sora backed up until he hit the wall behind him, placing one palm flat against it just so he'd have some form of contact to ground himself. 

 

"Show yourself!" he barked angrily. His voice echoed again, and the demand surrounded him, a broken record in a perfect city.

 

"I could, but what's the fun in that? Why don't you guess? Surely you recognize my voice." Sora glared at the open air and crossed his arms. How could something without a face sound so  _ smug?  _ He scoffed and turned back the way he had been going before, waving a hand over his shoulder flippantly.

 

"Nah." If Sora weren't busy pretending that he didn't care, he would have flipped the voice off as he walked. "I got other things to worry about." 

 

Somewhere behind him, the voice sputtered in shock, before it composed itself with a cough.

 

"Are you sure about that?" it jeered. Sora spared an annoyed glance over his shoulder, and was met with a pair of golden eyes. He spun around again, eyes widening in fear.

 

"You-  _ how _ ?" He shook his head, taking a step away from the cloaked figure. "No, this is a dream. You're just a shadow in my mind." He glared at the face that was still obscured in the shadow of his hood.

 

"Are you willing to take that risk?" He pulled his hood back from his face, revealing short silver hair. The youngest form of Xehanort smirked at him, rubbing his palms together as he stalked forward. Sora backed up another step, and held his hand out for his keyblade. "Oh, I wouldn't bother. I think you'll find that after that stunt you pulled today, the Keyblade won't be coming at your beck and call anymore." Sora bared his teeth in defiance, calling for his Keyblade anyways.

 

Normally, the feeling of his most trusted weapon flashing into being was like cold water trickling down the inside of his wrist. Shocking and refreshing all at once.

 

Now, all he could feel was muted static humming up and down the inside of his arm. Slowly,  _ slowly _ , Sora turned his gaze down to his empty palm, turning deathly pale as he did. Xehanort's mocking laughter was a dull ringing in the back of his mind.

 

"Oh, how the mighty have fallen," he crowed. "Here, trapped in the Realm of Sleep, you are defenseless against me. And your own foolishness has sealed your fate. With no weapon to call upon, you shall-!"

 

Of all the things Sora had expected that sentence to end with, "giant rampaging dragon" was not one of them. And yet, Xehanort was gone, and in his place stood what was perhaps the largest, angriest, coolest looking dragon Sora had ever seen. And he had seen several dragons in his many journeys across the worlds, so that was saying something.

 

Although, this dragon was…  _ alarmingly  _ familiar. 

 

Xehanort- or rather, the nightmare of him, poofed away into wine dark smoke, crushed under wicked obsidian claws. Sora's gaze traveled  _ up up up _ into crimson eyes, and he gasped as he saw the glittering emblem emblazoned on the beast's forehead.

 

"Oh, no,  _ Riku, _ " he breathed. "What  _ happened _ to you?" His answer was the flash of fangs and a great rumbling growl. Obsidian scales shimmered as he stalked forward, and the fins on either side of his head rattled threateningly. Sora backed away, one hand held out entreatingly. 

 

"Riku, I don't know what darkness has a hold of you, but please," he whispered entreatingly, "you have to break free." The massive head tilted to the side so Riku could look at him with one crimson eye. "Just, take it easy, and we can figure this oUT!" Sora squeaked and jumped backwards as vicious fangs snapped shut where he had been standing a moment before. "Okay, different plan!" he announced out loud. "Riku, I apologize in advance." The dragon snarled, and Sora wrapped himself in magic and  _ leapt _ as Riku pounced at him. Sora skated up alabaster walls, yelping as those claws just barely skimmed the fabric of his coat.

 

"Well, at least my dreams are never boring," he gasped as he crested the building. He dashed from rooftop to rooftop, casting glances over his shoulder to track Riku's progress. 

 

Riku, for his part, was paying no mind to the perfect architecture around him. Chunks of white stone fell to the alleys below them, carved out by his claws. On one glance, Sora saw the exact moment that Riku opened his wings to take off, and nearly lost his footing. 

 

The underside of his wings, rather than being the same oily black as the rest of his scales, shone bright with the light of a hundred galaxies. A starscape shimmered on the paper thin flesh, shifting and dancing as Riku pushed against the open air, rising far above him. Sora actually came to a halt, staring at the patch of night above him, stark against the clear blue sky.

 

"Damn it, even when he's a giant nightmare dragon he's pretty as heck," he mused in annoyance. "Some people have all the luck." With a heavy sigh, he picked up his stride again, bouncing off of walls, benches, lampposts; anything to keep up his momentum and keep the magic swirling around him from fading into the air. He tracked Riku by the shadow he cast, making sure to keep a good distance away from him.

 

The shadow suddenly grew much smaller, and Sora twisted around to see what had happened to his friend. Riku had folded his wings to his sides and was diving straight at him, claws extended and open mouth bristling with teeth. Sora screamed and yanked his magic back around him, practically disappearing as he forced the air in his path to move out of his way. The sudden motion caused a sound like a thunderclap, and the booming sound was enough to deter Riku's flight path just enough to make him miss his target.

 

The great beast careened off to the side, crushing several stories of buildings and sending dust up into the air. Sora crawled closer to the impact site. His chest heaved with the sudden adrenaline rush, and his mana sparked and jumped around him in a panicked flurry. 

 

When the dust finally settled enough to see, Sora gasped at the sight of Riku, still dark as sin, trapped under the collapsed remains of a tower. He writhed and growled, but his wings were pinned against his sides, and his claws scrabbled uselessly at the pavement.

 

"You seem oddly calm, despite the fact your companion is in this corrupted state."

 

"What the  _ fuck? _ " Sora twisted to the side, reaching for a Keyblade on instinct. It didn't appear, just like before, so he settled for grabbing a section of metal pipe that had been torn up by Riku's landing. "You- you were crushed! I watched you turn into smoke!"

 

"I'm part of the dream," the youngest Xehanort said with a shrug. "I can do whatever I please."

 

"Fantastic," Sora grumbled. He let the pipe drift down, but he didn't let go of it. Just in case. "Why bother me, anyways? I'm kinda busy, as you can see." He leaned down to glance at his friend once again, eyes going dark with worry. 

 

"Because," he countered with a haughty air, "despite your inherent dislike of me, you also see me as an authority on Keyblades. So the things your heart knows but your mind doesn't can be transmitted through me."

 

"The only thing I see you as an authority of is losing to me and my friends," Sora spat, eyes blazing. "I don't want to listen to  _ anything  _ you have to say!"

 

"Just like you won't listen to what your heart knows is true." Xehanort glanced down at Riku, who had partially freed one wing and was flailing it about. "You don't trust yourself to be an authority. So your mind created me. After all, I can't be trusted either, right?"

 

Sora stared for a long time, mouth open but unable to render a response.

 

"That's not..." He glanced down at the hand that wasn't holding an impromptu weapon and sighed. "Whatever. If you're gonna be helpful, then do it already. Otherwise, just leave me alone."

 

"Gladly," he chirped, eyes glinting with something like exasperation. "What do you know of your friend's relationship with darkness?"

 

"What? Why?"

 

"Humor me."

 

Sora put a hand to his chin, squinting down at his shoes. "After we managed to free him from Ansem's control and close the door, he doesn't seem to have any weakness to it. I mean, aside from the bit where he had his face for a while. But he's been in the depths of my heart, and the Realm of Darkness, and didn't slow down at all. I think he even said something about being immune to it, at some point." Sora's head shot up, and he stared down at Riku, who had given up for the moment and was panting in exertion. "Wait, then how can he have turned into a Nightmare? I've seen him turn into a dragon in my dreams before, but never like this."

 

"He does indeed have a measure of immunity to darkness," Xehanort confirmed. "But no one is truly without weakness. He cannot be taken down from darkness from the outside. His inner darkness has also been leashed. He bends it to his will, much like you do, if in a less pronounced way." Sora eyed him suspiciously, crossing his arms. "Which means there are very few places such a darkness could have come from. One, in fact."

 

"What are you saying?" Sora hissed. "It can't be darkness from the outside, and it can't be his heart's darkness. What other sources can there be?" Rather than respond, his silver-haired companion simply stared at him, one eyebrow raised. Sora glared right back, letting out an angry huff.

 

Finally, Xehanort rolled his eyes and relented. "Riku is not like you. You have opened your heart to everyone foolish enough to get within befriending range. He, on the other hand, has opened his heart to only one other.  _ Surely  _ you can tell me who that is." 

 

Sora drew in one shaky breath, the pipe he had grabbed earlier clattering to the ground.

 

"Me." Sora's eyes went wide with horror. "Oh my Gods, I did this to him." His breath hitched, and he rushed to the edge, staring down at the still form of the Nightmare. "When I pulled that darkness out of Terra, I couldn't scatter all of it. I had to take some into my heart, or risk it flowing right back into Terra. And somehow it went from me, to Riku."

 

"He protected you from your nightmares." Xehanort smirked as he faded back into the shadows. "By becoming one." Sora glared at his retreating form, before turning back to his latest problem.

 

"Okay, Riku," he murmured. "I did this to you. Now I gotta fix it." He leapt down to the ground level, landing several feet away from his ebony snout. "And then we're gonna have a chat about this whole dream eating thing." Riku snarled, thrashing against the weight of the stones. "Yeah, you heard me. If this affects you this much, then it's gotta stop. A few nightmares didn't kill me before, I'll survive them now." 

 

Riku actually stilled, growl gentling to a croon for just a moment. Sora smiled down at him, crouching so he could look straight into his glowing crimson eye. "Yeah, I know. We'll talk all this out. I just gotta get rid of this darkness and wake up." He sighed. "Somehow." He rose up on tiptoe, stretching his arms up over his head with a groan. "So," he grunted, stretching down to touch his toes, "can I let you up peacefully, or are you gonna try to kill me?" His only response was a huff of hot air. "I'm just gonna hope for the best."

 

Though his Keyblade was a muffled hum under his heartbeat, his magic roared to life as easily as ever. It was a matter of moments to grab hold of the debris pinning Riku down and lift it with a touch of gravity magic. Sora crouched, ready to leap away at a moment's notice.

 

Riku rose to his feet with a ponderous groan, his huge form barely sitting in the narrow alley. He shook from side to side, sending more dust into the air. With terrifying care, his head swung down to stare at Sora.

 

"Okay," he breathed. "Show time."

 

With a roar that shook glass and made Sora's ears ring, Riku slammed a paw down at Sora, narrowly missing the him. Once again, Sora used the narrow, stacked architecture to his advantage, bouncing off walls and leading Riku farther up the city. Soon enough, he was leaving Riku behind as he made the nearly vertical climb up the tower. A roar behind him and a rush of wind alerted him to when the dragon gave up on the on-foot pursuit and took to the air. Sora let a wild grin overtake his features. 

 

He always did his best work when he was desperate, after all.

 

He waited until Riku's shadow was right above him before he leapt backwards off the stonework, into the open air. Just like he'd hoped, Riku's massive form was right behind him, and it was laughably easy for him to nudge his descent with magic, allowing him to grab hold of the narrow part of his tail before the feather like appendages sprouting from the tip. Riku roared in rage, falling for a moment as he tried to reach Sora with his claws.

 

Even as he held on with all his might, Sora couldn't help but bark out a laugh. Riku's massive form was what made him such a formidable adversary, but it also gave him several glaring weaknesses.

 

After a moment of frustrated reaching, Riku took off straight up, before twisting to the side. Sora hung on for dear life as he was thrown and shaken all over the sky. It was with great difficulty that he kept an eye on his goal, but he was finally rewarded when Riku twisted once again, his tail whipping out behind him. Sora braced for just a moment, before pushing off all at once. His own jump combined with the sheer might in that muscled tail sent him careening straight towards his target, one of the cable cars that dotted the sky above the silent town.

 

Sora landed with a pained grunt, nearly sliding right off the edge. He glanced upwards to see Riku trying to twist and look at his own tail in confusion, feeling the lack of a passenger but unaware of where he'd gone. Sora crouched behind the latch that attached the car to the thick wire that held it, hoping it would be enough to hide himself from Riku's sharp eyes.

 

With an earth-shaking bellow, Riku began sweeping around the city, his dark form an inky stain on the bright white of the architecture. With nimble fingers, Sora undid the latch to the door on the roof, slipping into the cable car before Riku could circle back around and spot him.

 

"What am I gonna do with you?" Sora murmured tiredly. He sunk into a seat, watching the gulls soar by with half lidded eyes. The car was making its lonely way up to the top of the tower, which meant Sora had a few minutes to catch his breath. He watched as Riku circled, admiring the way his scales caught the light and the graceful dip and turn as he caught the updrafts around the island. If it weren't for the fact that he was trapped in a sea of darkness, Sora would consider it a fun day out, wild city chase and all.

 

"I'm so sorry, Riku," he sighed. "This is all my fault. I should have been stronger. If I'd just been able to wait out Terra, this never would have happened. But no, I'm the idiot who broke my Keyblade and took in  _ way _ more darkness than I should be messing with. And now you're… you're stuck like this. Who knows what it's like for you right now…"

 

Sora eyed the approaching platform, rising to his feet as the cable car briefly came to a halt. The doors slid open with a quiet hiss, and Sora stepped out onto cold marble. He knew the patterns in this stone only vaguely, but it was still achingly familiar. Memories, of bright and dark and fear, all washed over him. Deep within his heart, a great power slept, roused only briefly by the onslaught of memories.

 

Down by the ocean, a roar echoed out, and Sora watched as Riku shot a dark blast of flames at the docks in rage. The dragon swooped back up, landing precariously on one of the cable cars. His tail hung off the edge, and his claws dug into the metal with a screech. Sora eyed his half spread wings, judging distances in the back of his mind even as he formulated a plan. 

 

His mind made up, Sora raised his fingers to his lips and let out a piercing whistle. Riku's head snapped to the side, and their gazes met all at once. For a moment, both were still. Then Riku was taking off again, the force of his liftoff snapping the cable, and the car went plummeting into the buildings below. Sora backed away from the edge, giving his friend plenty of room to land.

 

When Riku settled down, it was with much flapping and adjusting of his wings, buffeting Sora with gusts of wind. He covered his face with an arm, bracing against the push. When he opened his eyes, Riku was stalking forward, so low to the ground he was almost crawling.

 

Instinct told Sora to run, or fight, or  _ something, _  but he forced himself to remain still. That mouth full of so many fangs inches closer, carried by claws that were twitching with killing intent. Sora shuddered, staring the dragon down.

 

"You won't hurt me," Sora told him softly. "I know you won't." As if to challenge his words, Riku slammed a paw down right next to him, sending up dust and chunks of stone. Sora held his ground, though, clenching his fists at his side for just a moment. "I know you're in there, Riku. I know you're hurting, and it's my fault. I'm  _ sorry. _ " With a quiet sigh, Sora closed his eyes, and held one hand out, palm forward.

 

With any luck, if he lost his hand, it would only hurt until he woke up.

 

Warmth brushed against his palm, a gust of air. Then the feeling of scales, dull and soft against the calluses on his fingers. Sora opened one eye, breath caught somewhere in his throat.

 

"Oh, you wonderful creature, you," he whispered. Riku, despite the darkness, despite the nightmare's sigil on his forehead, had pressed himself to the ground, and was gently pushing his nose into Sora's hand. Sora sobbed out a breath of relief, falling to his knees. This time, when Riku opened his eyes, he was met with aquamarine, kind and deep. The darkness still swirled and danced on his scales, but it wasn't impenetrable. It was still Riku, somewhere in there.

 

"I need to wake up," Sora realized. "I gotta find you in the real world, and wake you up too." The dragon huffed out a breath, shuffling closer. Sora rubbed his snout gently. "Will you wait here for me?" Riku grumbled deep in his throat, but remained still. With extreme care, Sora rose to his feet, leaving Riku's hunched form where it was. He backed up, one step, two, until he was right on the edge of the round platform. His heel met open air, and Sora came to a halt, watching Riku carefully. The dragon let out a worried rumble, his head lifting from the stone.

 

"Easy," Sora whispered, watching his eyes for any hints of red. "Easy, love." Normally, he'd hesitate to use any such endearments, but chances were that Riku wouldn't remember any of this. Might as well be honest while he could. "I just gotta wake up." With a reassuring smile, Sora took that last step-

 

And let himself fall.

 

The wind whipped around him, nearly deafening him to the sound of Riku's screech. Sora kept his back to the ground, refusing to watch its approach. Instead, he watched as Riku leapt off the building's edge with no hesitation, folding his wings to his sides and diving. Sora smiled softly.

 

"I appreciate it," he said to the shrieking winds, "but I can't let you catch me this time. I've got to face the consequences of this." He closed his eyes, drawing in a breath as the shadows of buildings rose up around him. Riku was so close, claws outstretched, but Sora knew he wouldn't be fast enough. Not this time.

 

Sora woke up screaming.

 

He shot upright, throwing aside blankets and the weight of someone's arm across his chest. Next to him, Ven flailed and yelped as he was thrown into wakefulness, and Aqua also blinked away sleep at Sora's cries. Terra and Roxas snored on, the both of them heavy sleepers and oblivious to the commotion happening mere feet away from them. Sora scrambled away from the pile of blankets, grabbing his shoes from where they had been set by the door and dashing outside, ignoring Ven's worried yelling.

 

"Sorry, be right back!" Sora called over his shoulder. He hopped on one foot as he pulled his shoe on, then repeated the process with the other foot. He kept moving until he was out in the courtyard, blinking against the light of the sunset. Riku was probably staying at Yen Sid's Tower, which meant all Sora needed to do was summon a portal and then climb an unholy amount of stairs to get to him.

 

The sight of his Ultima Keyblade, shattered and grey on the pavement where they'd left it, brought him to a screeching halt. Sora stared with unseeing eyes, before coming to his senses and stamping his foot angrily.

 

"I never thought I'd be so annoyed to not have a Keyblade," he grumbled. A shadow appeared by his elbow, and Sora glanced to his side with an unimpressed scowl. He had quickly grown accustomed to Vanitas's habit of appearing silently, and while it was funny to watch him make people jump, he wasn't exactly in the mood at the moment.

 

"I can fix that," Vanitas said with the smuggest of grins. With a flick of his wrist, a dark portal blossomed in the courtyard, a shadowy smudge against the oranges and pinks of the sunset. "Feeling brave?"

 

Sora gave him a grateful smile and shot down the stairs three at a time. "Thanks, Vani! Stall for me, 'kay?"

 

"I wouldn't have to stall if you just told them where you're going!" Vanitas shouted after him. Sora waved at him over his shoulder, disappearing into the portal. Ven popped out of the door, all rumpled clothing and bedhead, and watched with wide eyes as Sora- and the portal- disappeared. 

 

"Where did you just send him?" he gasped, bracing his hands on his knees. 

 

Vanitas shrugged. "I don't know. Dark portals aren't like the gates. You just punch one open and then it goes wherever you want it to go."

 

"So you have  _ no _ idea where Sora is right now."

 

"Nope."

 

"And we have no way of finding out, because he doesn't have his Gummiphone with him." Ven waved the device in question in front of Vanitas's face, watching as his darker half's expression fell.

 

"That's… huh." Vanitas eyed the space where the portal had been a moment before. "Maybe should have asked him where he was going."

 

"Yeah, maybe!" Ven growled in exasperation. He sighed and stomped back inside. "Come on. We're waking up Roxas and Terra and then splitting up to look for him. You get to help."

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes, but followed. "Goodie," he muttered, shutting the door behind him.

 

Meanwhile, on a world far far away, Sora was stumbling onto the patchy grass of the Tower's outer level. Sora dashed towards the door and threw it open, completely oblivious to the amount of noise he was making. He pounded up the stairs three at a time, taking great running strides. He could feel Yen Sid's magic probing at the back of his mind, identifying his presence to the old wizard.

 

"I'll explain later," Sora gasped as he ran, confident that Yen Sid would hear him and give him the time he needed.

 

Just like he'd suspected, on the second room on the way up to Yen Sid's abode, there were several extra doors, rooms that appeared whenever someone needed a place to stay while travelling. Riku preferred the room closest to the exit, for reasons he never did explain to Sora. But for once, his odd preferences worked in Sora's favor, and he threw the door open to see a slumbering form hidden under the blankets.

 

"Okay, Riku, time to wake up," Sora grunted as he yanked the blankets away. He gasped and stumbled back as he saw Riku clearly for the first time.

 

His eyes were open and unseeing, tinged that lurid, angry red, and darkness pulsed along his skin like the waves back home. His mouth hung open, his breathing slow and ragged, revealing a mouth full of fangs. Pained wheezing escaped him on every other exhale, and it tore at Sora's heart every time.

 

"I did this," he whispered, eyes welling up with tears. "Oh, Riku, you were never supposed to get caught up in this. I'm so  _ sorry _ ." He let one hand come to a rest on Riku's chest, fingers spread out. "I swear to you, I will fix this." Riku groaned in his sleep, fingers flexing and curling like claws.

 

"Sora." The boy in question turned, and drew back at the sight of Yen Sid's stern visage. "I assume you know what caused this, seeing as you rushed in so recklessly?"

 

"Yeah, I…" he ducked his head, unable to meet Yen Sid's eyes. "I'm trying to fix it. I just need to wake him up." Yen Sid gazed down at the youngest Master, a slight frown making his whole face look even more pinched and drawn than usual.

 

"Well, as long as you have not lost the Power of Waking again, that shouldn't be difficult for you." He retreated back out the door, his robes making quiet sounds against the floor. "I'll be nearby, should you require assistance."

 

"Thank you, Master." Sora turned back to Riku, drawing in a shaky breath. "The only question is if I can even  _ use _ the Power of Waking without a Keyblade." He wrapped his arms around himself, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

 

Riku mumbled and groaned in his sleep, shifting from side to side ever so slightly. Sora sniffled, feeling the lump in his throat start to rise. As he watched, an idea started to form. A half-forgotten memory of something that Riku had done for him, at the end of their test.

 

"I can do this," Sora whispered. "I don't need a Keyblade to dive into Riku's heart, we're already connected. I just… I just need to-" He stopped, forced himself to take a deep breath. "I just need to believe I can do it," he finished confidently. After a moment's thought, he laid down on the bed next to him, staying on top of the covers while Riku was tucked safely under them.

 

"I'm coming to get you, Riku," he whispered, closing his eyes and focusing on the feeling of Riku's heartbeat. He reached out with his heart, following that sound to its deepest origins.

 

Right as Sora slipped away into unconsciousness, Roxas threw the door open and stared down at their sleeping forms.

 

"Well, shit." 

  
  


The drop down into Riku's heart was a long and lonely one, and Sora could feel the darkness pressing in on him from all sides. He shrugged it off with a shiver, squinting into the depths in an attempt to see Riku's Station of Awakening. It came into view slowly, dim and obscured, but still visible. Riku's sleeping form was etched into the glass, still holding onto the distinct silhouette of Way to the Dawn. Sora touched down softly, his soles making almost no sound.

 

"Riku?" Sora called. He took a step forward, away from the edge. "Riku, are you here?" His own voice echoed back to him, a thin mockery. Sora crouched and placed his palm against the glass. "I know you're in here  _ somewhere _ ," he muttered. He listened for a pulse of any kind, and was met with only a dull uneven thud against his palm. He glared down at it. "You're being difficult on purpose." He could barely feel anything on Riku's end. Nothing but static, much like his stubbornly uncooperative Keyblade.

 

"Okay. Plan B it is." He reached inwards, gathering all the strings that tethered his heart to Riku's, and  _ yanked _ .  _ "Listen to me, dammit!" _ he roared, and pulses of light exploded outwards from where his palms pressed against the glass.

 

The murkiness coalesced into a single point, rising up into a dark figure. Sora eyed the newcomer anxiously, taking a step back. 

 

That didn't feel like Riku.

 

"What are you?" Sora hissed. The apparition stepped closer, red eyes peering out from under a dark hood. Rosy patterns traced up from the hem of the coat, giving the nightmarish creature an almost elegant look. It approached with an even, measured gait, and Sora backed up until his heels were on the very edge. "Stay away!" he yelled. He pulled on his ties to Riku again, more panicked than before.

 

The creature grabbed Sora's wrist, and like a cold blast of water to the face, he remembered where he'd seen it before.

 

"You," he whispered with a wavering voice. "You were  _ there _ . You trapped me in that- that thing!" With a terrified cry, Sora yanked his hand away. But the creature only dug its claws in deeper, and Sora gasped in pain. 

 

"Let go!" he cried, scrabbling at its ebony hand. "Let me go, I have to find Riku!" It dragged him, step by agonizing step, towards the center of the station, where a swirling orb of darkness rose up and hovered silently. Sora grit his teeth in anger.

 

"Oh, no you don't!" He dug his heels in, and grabbed the creature's arm. It actually stopped and looked at him, though the blank red orbs that stood in for eyes were still devoid of any emotion. Sora grabbed hold of as much fabric as he could, set his stance, and pulled backwards. With a strained roar, Sora raised the creature over his head and slammed it into the platform, head first. 

 

It lost its grip on Sora, and let out an unholy screech. Sora stumbled back, clapping his hands over his ears. The  _ thing _ writhed on the ground, screeching and screaming and twisting into shapes that no human body should be able to make. In his haste to get away from it, Sora almost stumbled right into the dark prison it had been trying to drag him into. He wove around it, heart pounding.

 

With one final ear bursting screech, it collapsed, and melted back into the shadows of the glass. Sora glared as it wove its way across the image like oil.

 

"I've had enough of you," he snarled. It was with great satisfaction that he gathered light in his palms, until the sphere he held illuminated every dark corner of the platform he stood on. "Now let Riku  _ go!" _ He  _ slammed _ it down, and grinned widely as the shadows were torn away.

 

The faded image from before cleared away in a flurry of doves, and as they disappeared into the endless horizon, a new image glowed, clear and bright.

 

This new image, of the Riku that Sora had grown to know in the past few months, floated serenely, Braveheart clutched in his fist. Waves lapped gently below him, and in the gentle light of dawn the paopu tree was etched behind him. Two silhouettes sat on its distinctive curve, hand in hand. And behind his head, the symbol of the Dream Eaters served as a halo, framing the curves of his face, soft with sleep. 

 

Sora smiled down at the new design, eyes lighting up with joy. "You've come so far, Riku," he breathed. Gone was the rage, the guilt, the black coats and blindfolds. Now he could finally just be…  _ happy _ . "Now, do me a favor and come out where I can see you?"

 

Another orb rose up out of the platform, but instead of being a mass of swirling darkness, this one was a net of light, too thick for Sora to see through. Wisps of it drifted off, slowly revealing the form floating gently inside. Sora approached with a gentle smile, resting his palm on the side of it, sighing.

 

"There you are," he breathed. "I'm so glad you're okay." Riku didn't respond, but his lips were curved in a soft smile. Sora startled as his hand slipped through the thinning wall, then used it as an opportunity to rest his hand on Riku's cheek.

 

"Come on. Time to wake up, Ri." This time, Riku's face pinched, and he grumbled in his sleep. Sora leaned in to hear the garbled words.

 

"Fi' more minuss," he slurred, drunk with sleep. Sora giggled.

 

"No, come on. I want to see your eyes, Riku, I need you to look at me." He was fairly certain that he'd cleared the darkness, but he had to double check before he allowed himself to leave. Riku leaned away from his touch, frowning.

 

"Come back to bed," he groaned. "It's too early." Sora froze, embarrassment making his stomach twist. He coughed, trying to scrub the blush off his face with his free hand. He would have pulled his hand away, but even while half-delirious Riku managed to grab hold and intertwine their fingers.

 

"Nope!" he squeaked. "It's wake up time now.  _ Please _ don't say anything else embarrassing." Riku let out one last petulant groan before rolling to face Sora and glare at him with bleary eyes.

 

"Happy now?" he groaned. "Now that I'm awake, can we  _ please _ go back to sleep?" Sora let out a tiny sigh of relief. He gazed up, into eyes that were the brightest aquamarine, like the ocean on a summer day.

 

"Yeah, we can go back to sleep," he agreed. "I'll see you on the outside, Riku." With a little shake, he freed his hand from Riku's grasp, laughing at the offended look on his friend's face even as his eyes drifted shut again.

 

"You gotta promise to wake up, though," Riku mumbled. "It hurt when you wouldn't wake up." Sora's smile fell, and for a moment his vision was obscured by the memory of white walls and flower pods.

 

"I promise," he whispered, as he let himself drift away from Riku's heart. His own eyes fluttered shut as he pulled himself out of the Dive. "See you soon, Riku."

  
  


Thankfully, for once, Sora's awakening was soft and slow. Dimly, he registered a sense of warmth, and the sound of voices drifting over him. The next thing he noticed was the drum of a heartbeat, right under his ear. With a soft hum, he lifted his head just enough to figure out how he had ended up this time.

 

The answer seemed to be tucked snugly under the blankets and against Riku's side, with Riku a comforting presence between him and the rest of the room. Sora snorted softly. It was just like Riku to move him closer to the wall. He attempted to sit upright, and was halted by the weight of Riku's arm wrapped around his waist. Or rather, wrapped under.

 

"Let me up," he grumbled. "Your arm's gonna fall asleep like that."

 

"Nah," Riku countered with a grin. "You're pretty light." Sora wrestled free and grabbed a pillow, snacking Riku in the face with it.

 

"That's it, no more sleepovers," he announced, gracelessly climbing over Riku. He cackled vengefully as Riku grunted in pain, and nearly fell off the bed entirely when Riku kicked out in retaliation. Luckily for him, the entire crew from the Land of Departure was standing there laughing at him, and Ven was kind enough to lean forward and catch him. Sora groaned and let Ven drag him off the bed entirely, going limp until he could get his feet under him.

 

"Hey, so, Sora?" Ven asked casually before he released his grip on him. "I'm going to have to ask you to NOT run off without saying anything. And don't try to argue with me, because Aqua can and will put a tracking spell on you if you don't stop doing dumb things without telling us."

 

"It wasn't dumb!" Sora protested, pulling away and dusting himself off. Behind him, Riku sat up, rubbing his eyes with his hands. "I just, uhhhh… " His gaze traveled back to where Terra was standing, leaning against the wall. "I had a bad dream, and I guess I was just convinced Riku was in trouble." Sora turned to face Riku, trying to express how much he needed Riku to play along with facial expressions alone. "But look! He's just fine." Riku raised an eyebrow, but seemed to get the message. That, or he didn't remember either of Sora's dreams, which could be a blessing in and of itself. Sora winced as the door to the already cramped room opened, and Yen Sid looked in with that same stern face.

 

"Lying is not a habit befitting one training to become a Master, Sora," he intoned flatly. "Perhaps you'd like to tell the more accurate version of that story?" Sora shrunk in on himself.

 

"No, I'd really rather not," he responded honestly. "The problem is fixed, no one got hurt, and that's all I care about." He glanced to the side, frowning at the crowd of worried faces. "There's nothing else to be said." 

 

"Sora," Riku murmured worriedly, "it's okay. You don't have to try and protect me from this." Sora shot a glare at Riku, but it didn't stop him. Though the older boy did give him an apologetic glance. "I'm Sora's Dream Eater," he announced to the room at large. "But when I tried to take away his Nightmare, I… I got lost in the darkness." His expression fell, but only for a moment. He smiled at Sora gratefully. "But Sora came and got me out. For once, you saved me from the dream." Sora let out a gusty sigh, shoulders drooping in defeat.

 

"Yeah, I suppose so," he agreed.

 

"Okay, but if Riku's supposed to be a Dream Eater, how come this time the darkness was too much for him?" Roxas pointed out, arms crossed over his chest. "I assume that hasn't happened before."

 

Riku shook his head and frowned. "No, it hasn't, not even during our Mark of Mastery Exam." His gaze flicked back up to Sora, suddenly concerned. "Sora, what-"

 

" _ Nothing happened,"  _ Sora snapped. "I'm  _ fine. _ " His heart pounded with anxiety. He was not going to be the one who ratted out Terra's "incident" earlier that day, no matter how suspicious it made Riku or Yen Sid. Riku held his hands up placatingly.

 

"I'm sure you're fine, Sora," he said softly, "but the nightmare I pulled you out of before I fell? It was a lot worse than usual." 

 

Sora shrugged guiltily. "I wouldn't know. I never remember the dreams that you intervene with." He took a step back, hyper aware of the closeness of everyone around him. He felt  _ trapped _ , not just by the people but by the secrets he was trying to keep. He flinched violently as a hand came down on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.

 

"I think we all know what caused all this," Terra murmured, eyes downcast. Sora turned to face him, eyes wild.

 

"Terra, you don't have to-"

 

"Yes, I do," he interrupted, his voice gentle but firm. He pulled Sora behind him, then faced Yen Sid. "I must apologize, Master. I… I was consumed by darkness. Sora managed to pull me out of it, but to do so he had to take on some of that darkness. He managed to subdue me, even though I…" He gathered his courage, and carried on despite the way his voice shook. "Even though I had turned into a monster." 

 

"What kind of monster do you speak of?" Yen Sid asked, his voice not betraying a speck of emotion, neither accusing or sympathetic. Terra hung his head.

 

"I turned into the sams beast of darkness that I was trapped in before," he admitted. "The Guardian." He sounded so tired, so defeated at yet another reminder of the mistakes he'd made a decade before.

 

Aqua reached forward and tugged his hand into hers, a silent gesture of support. "We were lucky," she murmured, her voice as soothing as ever, "that Sora has experience in these matters."

 

Sora froze.

 

"Experience?" Riku wondered out loud. "What does  _ that _ mean?" Sora, slowly, achingly, turned to look at Aqua. Beside her, Roxas had stiffened, his eyes wide with fear.

 

"Sora, don't panic," he begged, hands held out entreatingly. "It's okay-"

 

"Sora, what does she mean by experience?" Riku demanded. Though Sora's eyes were wide,  _ begging _ her not to say anymore, she did nothing but give him a sad glance.

 

"I'm sorry, Sora," she whispered. "But this can't be a secret any longer. I can't in good conscience call myself your Master if I don't do all I can to help you fight this darkness." 

 

"Aqua,  _ please."  _ With a tiny sigh, she shook her head.

 

"Please forgive me, Sora." She turned to face Yen Sid, firmly ignoring the way Sora's breath hitched in a terrified sob. "While trying to help Terra, Sora told us that he has faced a similar problem, that in moments of weakness he's also turned into a shadowy beast, not unlike a Heartless."

 

" _ Aqua! _ " Roxas snarled. "That wasn't your secret to tell!" Ven glanced between the two, clearly distressed, and Terra had pulled away from Aqua's grip on his hand, face set with disapproval.

 

"Sora  _ told  _ us he never told anyone else!" he hissed. "You didn't have to bring that up! I was perfectly happy to take the blame!" 

 

Aqua shook her head, firmer this time. "We can't be keeping these kinds of secrets," she insisted. "Not telling each other the whole truth is part of why everything went so wrong back then. Master Eraqus never told us about Xehanort's betrayal because he wanted to protect him. We hid things from Ven because we wanted to protect him. And he hid things from  _ us  _ because he was afraid of what we would say!" She stamped her foot, eyes dark with long-repressed anger. "We have to be better than this. We can't just blindly make the same mistakes that we did a decade ago and hope nothing goes wrong."

 

Terra bit back a harsh reply, schooling his features to something less antagonistic. "Yes, but we  _ also _ have to respect each other's right to choose," he reasoned softly. "Roxas is right. That wasn't your secret to tell." Aqua opened her mouth as if to reply, then stopped, and looked around. Roxas and Ven wore matching faces of disapproval, and Riku was still sitting in mild shock on the bed. And Sora? He stood silently, eyes trained firmly on the floor. He was so still, that Aqua wouldn't have even realized that he was crying if a tear hadn't dripped to the floor right then.

 

"Sora," she began, reaching for him. He flinched away, and her hand stopped in mid air.

 

"I trusted you," he whispered into the silent room. She pulled her hand back with a little gasp, horror welling up in her chest.

 

"Sora, wait-"

 

"Just don't," he sighed, turning to leave with defeat hanging low on his shoulders. "You've already said your piece." He slipped past Yen Sid without a word, and all of the room's occupants watched as he disappeared around the corner. 

 

"I'll go after him," Riku announced. He glanced at Aqua. "Don't worry. No matter how mad he gets, he forgives easily. I should know." He rose to his feet with a groan. 

 

"You hurt him, I break you," Roxas promised, eyes glinting with the threat. Riku nodded, a wry smile on his face.

 

"I believe you," he assured him. "Try not to kill Aqua while I'm gone, please." Roxas shot a dirty look her way, but nodded. Satisfied, Riku ducked out the door after Sora, and the rest of the room's occupants stood in awkward silence.

 

"Perhaps," Yen Sid began with a cough, "we should adjourn to the tower room. We should discuss what to do about this alarming habit of falling into darkness, and all that it implies." He turned with a swish of his robes, and the rest of them followed dejectedly. Ven wound his arm around Roxas's, and the slightly shorter blond scooched closer with a frown.

 

"He'll be okay, right?" Ven whispered. Roxas scoffed.

 

"At this point, who knows." He glanced behind them down the stairs. "But, much as I hate to admit it, Riku  _ is _ kind of the Sora whisperer. If anyone can lift his spirits, it's him." Ven nodded slowly, and the two of them followed the rest of the group up the stairs.

 

"I sure hope so," he sighed.

  
  


Perhaps the most tragic realization was the one that Sora had already had several times that day, which was that he didn't currently have a Keyblade to call on whenever he needed it. So rather than launching himself back to the Islands so he could distract himself with nostalgia, he had curled into a sad little ball at the foot of the tower, obscured from sight by a conveniently placed bush. He muffled his sobs out of habit more than any real desire to hide, though that didn't stop Riku from finding him in practically no time at all.

 

"Hey," he murmured softly. "Mind if I come in?"

 

"I'm in a bush, Ri," Sora grumbled. "I can't exactly stop you." Riku took that as a yes and pushed his way into the tiny little alcove, drawing his knees up to his chest so he could squeeze in next to Sora. He let out a sigh, but otherwise didn't attempt to fill the silence. He waited patiently, content to stargaze past the swaying branches.

 

"I was gonna tell you eventually," Sora muttered into his knees. "I just didn't know how." Riku took in a deep breath and forced himself him hold it for a few seconds, then let it out  _ very _ slowly.

 

"I'm not mad at you, Sor," he promised. "Not for keeping secrets, not for using the darkness. Not for anything. I just want you  _ safe. _ " 

 

Sora shrugged, curling into an even tighter ball. "I haven't been safe since this whole mess started," he complained softly. "But… thanks, I guess. At least someone isn't mad at me."

 

"I don't think  _ anyone _ is angry with you, Sora." Riku chuckled drily. "If anything, they're all mad at Aqua for ratting you out." He leaned over just enough to bump him with one shoulder. "You know everyone here loves you to death, right? Like, these people would kill for you." He smiled down at Sora, leaning forward to try and catch his eye.

 

"I doubt that," he grumbled. When he looked up at Riku, the silver haired boy waggled his eyebrows, startling a laugh out of him. "I mean it! I'm nobody special, Riku. I consider all of them dear friends, but it's not like that."

 

"You just keep telling yourself that," Riku chuckled. "It's not my problem if you live in denial."

 

"I'm not- Riku!" Sora snapped, trying and failing to hide his grin. A few stray tears still slipped down his cheeks, but he looked leagues better than he had just minutes before. "Rude." Riku smirked, pleased with his success.

 

"I mean, it you know." He stretched one leg out with a groan. "I know you're nervous, but none of this changes how much they care about you. You're still our Sora."

 

"Thanks for the words of wisdom, you sap," Sora teased. Riku raised one eyebrow.

 

"Oh,  _ I'm  _ the sap," he said incredulously. He rolled his eyes. "Alright then." He rolled forward onto his knees, holding a hand back to Sora. "Ready to come out of hiding, or do you need a few minutes?" 

 

Sora shrank back, his face falling again. Riku sighed and crawled closer.

 

"Hey, it's okay," he murmured. "You don't have to push it." Sora nodded shakily, eyes downcast. He couldn't seem to stop shivering at the thought of going up there after his tearful retreat, but at the feeling of something warm and soft on his cheek, he froze.

 

He lifted his eyes to see Riku leaning away, blushing but still smiling reassuringly.

 

"I mean it," he sighed. "This doesn't make me think any less of you, Sora. I don't think anything could." It felt like Sora's cheeks were bursting into flames, but he couldn't help the cheesy grin overtaking his features. "Also, I may remember the last bit of that one dream in that weird white city."

 

Sora went from red to pale in the span of a second. "Of course you do," he groaned into his palms. "I didn't mean anything, Riku, I swear-"

 

"We can talk about that later." Riku stepped out of the bush, crouching and extending his hand again. "But if I don't bring you back pretty soon, Roxas is gonna come out here and kill me himself." Sora let out a watery giggle, ad this time he reached forward and took Riku's hand, allowing himself to be towed onto his feet.

 

"Sounds like him," he admitted. He let out a shaky breath, and closed his eyes against the anxiety building up in his lungs. Riku rubbed his shoulder comfortingly.

 

"C'mon," he whispered. "Let's go take care of this. Then you won't have to worry about it anymore, right?" Sora nodded in tired agreement, then turned to face Riku.

 

"Can we- can I take a few minutes? To just… well. Decompress?" Riku nodded, taking Sora's smaller hands in his, surrounding them with callused warmth.

 

"Of course." He led Sora to the front steps of the Tower and sat down, tugging Sora down next to him. "But we'll have a way better view of the stars when we're not under a bush." Sora snorted, and let his head tilt back and his eyes drift shut. He hummed in gentle agreement, and let his breath escape him all at once. 

 

"Thank you, Riku. For everything." Riku let out a genuine laugh, and leaned into Sora.

 

"No, thank  _ you.  _ For always coming to save me when I call." Sora laughed warmly.

 

"Anytime, Ri." He stared up at the stars that had, in a way, started their whole journey. The stars that had brought him Ven, then Kairi. The stars that had inspired them to seek out new worlds. The stars that had pulled them apart, and then thrown them back together again. 

 

"Anytime."


End file.
